Tag Archives: george gurdjieff

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff/ˈɡɜrdʒiˌɛf/ (January 13, 1866 – 1877? – October 29, 1949[1]), also commonly referred to as Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and G. I. Gurdjieff, was an influential early 20th century choreographer, composer, writer and esotericist who taught that most humans do not possess a unified mind-body consciousness and thus live their lives in a state of hypnotic “waking sleep”, but that it is possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. Gurdjieff described a method attempting to do so, calling the discipline “The Work”[2] (connoting “work on oneself”) or “the Method”.[3] According to his principles and instructions,[4] Gurdjieff’s method for awakening one’s consciousness unites the methods of the fakir, monk or yogi, and thus referred to it as the “Fourth Way“.[5]

Without struggle, no progress and no result. Every breaking of habit produces a change in the machine.

A man can only attain knowledge with the help of those who possess it. This must be understood from the very beginning. One must learn from him who knows.

Religion is doing; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he lives his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy.

Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy, which, if it remained unused, might become negative, that is, poison. Laughter is the antidote.

A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the same even for half an hour.

Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave.

Transcribed from The Strangest Secret audio program by Earl Nightingale

Some years ago, the late Nobel prize-winning Dr. Albert Schweitzer was asked by a reporter, “Doctor, what’s wrong with men today?” The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said, “Men simply don’t think!” Continue reading →

If we desire change then we must be willing to allow change. It is helpful to remember that we are trading in the old self that is a faded remnant trapped thousands of years ago in the past, by merging with a new self that is more wonderful than we could ever have dreamed for.

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

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